Display case



Jan. 1,1929.

y 1,697,582/ C. E. WICKE DISPLAY CASE Filed March 1'?. 192? 2 sheets-sheet 2 `r///////v/////` ////l///////////v INVENTOR -c,v,E. -vy\c\ lei ATTORNEYS- Patented Jan. 1,1929,

item2 f Feten v CHARLES n. WICKE, or Mourir VERNON, NEW YORK, Assienon To A. o. Wiens MANU- FACTURING COMPANY, 0F NEVI YORK, N. Y., A

CORPORATION For NEW YORK.

DSPLAY CASE.

Application mediteren i7, i927.. sei-iai No. 175,950.5 v

This invention relates to show or display cases and more particularly tonglass enl closed cases of the refrigeration type.

`Showcases of the above characterare `extensively employed for the display lof perishable articles, suchpas meats, produce and the like. In the exhibition 'of such articles, it is, ofcourse, desirable 'to present them to the-best 'advantage and at the same time maintain a lotvtemperature surrounding atmosphere. It is preferable to conv struct show cases forfthis purpose With the main or'foremost Window so arranged that 'themer'cfhandise Will be 'displayed to the best advantage and 'unobscured by reflection or'refraction of light rays. Furthermore,-

since considerable 'moisture condenses on Windows in shovvV cases of V"this type it is essential tolprovide means for receiving and vremoving the condensate and to prevent an accumulation of Water fin the Compartment containing the displayed goods. y

v,An object of the present invention is thereforeto provide a 'display case vhaving the Window thereof so constructed andy arranged as to offer'the jl'east obstruction to the visibility ofthe articles displayed Within v "the case.

Another object of the 'inventionis to providey a combined support Vand drainage element for said Window. l

A further Object of the inventionris 'to provide a Vsimple and effective show case` which may be Vquickly assembled and of a :sanitary anddu'rable-V construction.

The ,presentV invention 'is mainly con- !c'eitne'd With the foremost or show Windovv and its supporting structure.

It has ,been found that vif a show Window is disposed in a vertical or inclined plane, the visibility of the objects VWithin the case is interferred ivith'by the refraction oi' reiection of light passing through the'glass and-only Wlienthe observer takes a certain relative .position Iifs the Lbest effect or great-v 'est visibility made possible and the saine is `also true of lthe semiecircular show Windows.k

This is, of course, -a ldisadvantage since the show-case is usually a mode of advertisement .of the merchants Wares and it is to his benefit to have his displayed articles at all .times presented in such manner as to 'be .the most effective. v It has rbeen found 'that by providing a combined vertical and cylindrical formalveaicai, sipping of tion lof show Window that objeotional re# iiection and refraction of light, Which had heretofore obscured :clear vision', is greatly reduced and that articles displayed I a show Window of such form, are clearly visible by an observer from all angles. Usually, showcases of 'the refrigeration type Vare set belo'W the lineof sight Yof the average person. It 'has been found that a persons range of vision is free from interference When travelling from the upper to the lower portion -of the interior -of a compartment provided with the present `type of Window -The `exact':explanation for this is not here attempted, .but it is vbelive'dr 'that "the vvariation .in the surfaces,l vv'heie the greatest amount 'of light is absorbed, are least effective *to Asight of one standing iny position toviewithe contents of the compartment. rllhe eye Atravels 'over the vrounded surface .linevvith 'the radius .thereofI and vthen at ran Iangle vtothe 'straight side or vice versa. l

The result is that ythe reflections 'and re, fractions that heretofore yoccurred are neutralized andthe yarticles may be `viewed clearly Without discomfort. y vThe invention also `provides a VsupportingY ledge for the shovv Window which ledgeis in .transverse cross y'section 'substantially 'of l'Sshape One portion of the V.ledge "pro-v vides an outer molding y or bead which serves asa seal and permits exterior condensate toflow over the connectionbetween `4the Window land 'the ledge.l Another por tion of the Aledge 'is constructed l:in the forni of a trough to receive interior condensate that a long ledge may' be' built or united .as

an integral member. The "supporting ledge isalso `,so'constructed fas totaccommofdate Y rounded shvv' glasses or ap'lurality'thereo'. I f

For 'the purpose v'of supporting a fsho'iv glass, brace members are provided and the behind Vand is provided with drain apertures `to ledgepis formed with, socketstfo receive doivel `pins on the brace members. 'The .members 4arefdisposedwin a Ygivenjspacedljrelation and 'their Supper @has may te 'provided with-a no flange for attachment to the structure of the compartment or case.

The invention will be more fully understood reference to the accompanying;

drawings in which,

Fig.vk 1 is a vertical sectional view of a refrigerator type of show case with the present invention applied thereto;

Fig.2 is 4an enlarged perspectiveview of a glass supporting ledge .and drain trough made in accordance with the present invention; f f 1 Fig. 3 is a fragmentary plan view of thel vledge shown in Fig. 2';

' size and view of a portion of a show case vmade approximately oiie half the actual size Villustrating .the rel ation of curvature to the .straight portion vand also` showing a brace member andtie piece orstrip;

Fig. 5 is avieiv taken on line V-V in Fig. 4 but enlarged to approximately. full 1 F'g. 47s la. sectional Fig. 6 is vamodified vform of ledge adapted to support a plurality of show case glasses.

Y The `selected compartment Ywhich, fa s `a whole, is designated by the reference numeral 10,. comprising fanupper wall 11 having any suitable type of4 door 12 supported on cross pieces 13 .and 14. The compartment may have a rear Vvwall' 15 and a bottom wall 16, thelatter; including a slab of marble supported on cross members 18 and119` and partitions20 and 21, and a iilling'of cork22 and 23 may be `providedto insulate` the compartment.

- completes. the enclosure,

. A front Ywall 22 is provided which inconf junction ywith' aY ledge 23 4andwindow 24 it being understood that end vwalls of any suitable form (not shown) A'may beA provided. VThe greater Vpart of ythe structure just described, is common to .f this type of case, the. present invention residing in the `improved formv of ledge and the show Y window supported." thereby. This ledge may berof any convenientzlength and each length may have V orfother shaped.

`surface 31 isadaptedto receive the lend of a glass having ay vertical portion and the sur- -faee32 is adaptedto receive they edge. ofan inclined or ycurved Vglass 33 indicated in i. dotted lines in Fig.2. `The ledge 23 is sov formed `as toprovideaA flange or bead k3 4 embodimentof the invention `may comprise yan ice cooled show case `or tion, va brace "member40r is provided whichcovers the crevice between the glass i and its seat as welll asthe seam at the upper edge of the front wall 22, a suitable recess 34 being provided in the ledge to receive the edge of the saidv wall.

It will benoted that vthel bead isv so arranged that its upper vedge ,A 35 is ycontiguous with Vthe glass 24 which is I vertical and the same relation`- is attained` i when an inclined glass 33 is employed.

Thus an effective seal may be had and any condensed Vmoisture flowing downwardly.

will notenter the compartment nor accumulate along the bead which is fashionedwith a curvature to hasten theremoval ofV 'condensate. The portion 36 of the ledge extending within the compartment is'formed of trough shape and'provides a gutter to receive condensate flowing from the interior wall of the glass. Apertures 37 are provided to permit a discharge of the .condensed m'o-isturefromV the trough, any suitable number of apertures being employed.

' Although, as indicated, various shaped show windows may be used with thepresent ledge, it has been found preferable to` employ the shape as more clearly shown in Fig. V4. This' lwindow has a straight side or' portion 3 8 continuous with a curved portion 39.,l

fl/Vhen Viii position in ashowfcase thewindow 24 is positioned withfhe straight side lowermost; This particular form of show window lis exceptionally effective in permitting clear vision within'V thecase and it has been found, throughextensive thought and experiment, that the best results are obthe glasshas a radius of about sevenand three-quarter inchestangent to a'plane sur face. Thislatter surface'is vin a window of practicalfsize about nine and' one-half inches betweenits point of tangency' to'the curved surface and its lower edge. Show'windows of the above type may, of course, be of different sizes but if the same ratio is maintained between the tangentialsurfaces the 10o' tained when theexternalfcurved surface of f desired result Vis obtained. Thus the total vertical length *or projection of the surfacey of the show case window may be nine and one-half inches, for the straight portion plus i seven and three-quarter'inches for the radius of theciirvature and if the ratio of these vtwo dimensions ismaintaine'd the sameydesirable result will follow with: different` size y windows. a' Y The show'windows are usually produced iii lengths or sections andifthe case is of such length as torequire morerthan; one'secof such shape as to present a flat side 41 .for with the inner surface ofthe glass.

purpose of strengtheningthe brace,

contact For the the saine .may be formed with a iin' orweb `42 as shown in the sectional view (`see" Fig. 5) The'.

lower end 43 ofthe brace member is shaped to snugly -t a,l curved portion of the ledge Leer/,eea

23 and is provided with a dewel pin 44 which may extend into a suitable aperture provided in the ledge. The upperend of the brace may have a flange45 provided with screw apertures for attachment to the cross member' 14 of the case. As shown in'Fig.

l two adjacent windows '24 may,V rest on the brace member with their edges in spaced Y relation. A cover or tie strip 46 is provided and formed with a central rib 47 which fills the space between the adjacent windows and is provided with extended sides which lap the edges of the windows. The strip 46 may be secured by screws 50 of any vsuitable number which lextend through lthe strip and into the brace member 40. Thus the said brace member not only' serves as a rigid sup-y provided,with'several grooves 571 and 52 to' accommodate several glasses, as when it is desirable to provide the show window in the form of a double transparent wall for heat insulating purposes. This type of ledge is generally the same as the one previously described anditwill be noted that in addition to supporting the show windows, an endB of the ledge may serve as a supportfor the lslab -17 and that the lower flattened portion 54 of the ledge may rest on blocks 55 giving strength and rigidity to the structure It will readily be appreciated that by reason of the present invention a simple and effectiveshow case construction is obtained and that the same may be quickly and con-l veniently assembled or disassembled. Furthermore7 the various points or lines of union are so arranged and united that v a high degree of sanitation is possible.

Although -a preferred embodiment of the invention is shown and described herein, itV

is to be understood that the same mayy be varied or modified withoutV departing fromy the spirit and scope of the appended claims.`

W hat is claimed is: LA display 'case comprising a base por-v tion anda display portion disposed above said base portion and a ledge extending along "the upper forward edge of said base portion, said ledge having' means for receive ing a portion of said base portion and means for receiving a port-ion of saiddisplay porV tion' and a trough extending inwardly froml said ledge, said ledge being formed in sections provided with interlocking means to prevent transverse movement.

2. A display case comprisinga base por-` tion and a vdisplay portion disposed above said base portion'and a ledge extending along the upper forward edge of said base Y j portion, saidA ledge having means for receiving a portion of said base. portion and means for receiving a portion of said display portion, said last-nientioned means consisting of a groove so designed as to receive either vertical or slanting show glass.

Intestimony whereof I affix my signature.

CHARLES, E.y wicKn. 

